Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday there is a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives ready to pass a comprehensive immigration overhaul bill, but she may never get the chance to prove it if GOP Speaker John A. Boehner doesn’t bring a vote in the Republican-lead House.
“With 28 Republicans having publicly expressed support for a path to citizenship, we believe the votes are there on a bipartisan basis to pass a bill,” she wrote on Facebook. “It’s just a question whether Speaker Boehner can muster the will to schedule a vote.”
Ms. Pelosi, California Democrat, held a question-and-answer session about immigration on her Facebook page Tuesday afternoon. Though she got more than 600 posts from users on topics ranging from Obamacare to Hillary Clinton’s possible presidential run in 2016 to whether or not Democrats will take back control of the House next year, she responded to fewer than 10 of them and focused on the planned topic of immigration.
Some posters shared their own stories of how the country’s immigration laws have hurt them, especially the year-long wait for immigrants to move legally to the U.S. to be with their spouses and children.
“This is a perfect example of why we need comprehensive immigration reform. One of the key goals of our bipartisan bill is to reunite families. We do this by including provisions that reduce family visa backlogs,” Ms. Pelosi wrote.
Others talked specifically about how the proposed bill would help young adults who moved to America as children, called “Dreamers.”
SPECIAL COVERAGE: Immigration Reform
Many asked what Ms. Pelosi’s plan is to move the bill forward, despite the fact that many Republicans do not support immigration reform.
“We cannot afford to waste the opportunity that we have right now,” she responded. “There are Republicans who support this effort, we must make sure their voices are heard. The time for excuses is over — it’s time to pass this bill and get the job done for the American people.”
While many wrote in simply to express their support of the former speaker, her critics also came out in full force with comments like “Why are you so dead-set on trying to destroy this country?” and “As you are a disgrace to our country, when will you resign?”
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.